Beach Bungalow Banquet made easy!

Witch’s Heart Cocktail

Ingredients:

• 1 jigger apple brandy or apple vodka chilled
• 1 tsp grenadine
• 2 jiggers (or to top up) Homemade Blackberry Shimmery Liqueur (see notes) chilled
• Powdered dry ice optional
• Martini glass to serve

Directions:

1. Add about 1/2 – 1 tsp of powdered dry ice to the bottom of the glass (optional). 
2. Place the apple brandy and purple shimmery liqueur in a shaker. Add 1 ice cube and shake for a few seconds to chill the drink. Strain the drink into a martini glass. Top up with more purple shimmery liqueur if necessary. 
3. Pour 1 tsp of grenadine syrup, about an inch from the surface of the drink – the grenadine should sink to the bottom, creating a “bleeding” effect. 
4. Add about 1/2 tsp of powdered dry ice on top and serve with a stirrer, so that your guests can stir the “potion” to create that shimmery, smoky effect.

Tips & Tricks

NOTE 1 – You can make this cocktail with Purple Shimmery Liqueur and mix it with some White Moscato Wine. Click here for the recipe to make Purple Shimmery Liqueur at home.

To make it easier, you can use Viniq instead, but as noted it will change the flavour profile.

NOTE 2 ABOUT DRY ICE –  ONLY ADD COMPLETELY CRUSHED DRY ICE. Dry ice is simply solid CO2 gas and it goes straight from solid to gas without a liquid phase in the middle (this is called sublimation). So the smoke effect you see here is the solid dry ice evaporating. Wait until the smoke effect stops, because then you know the dry ice has completely evaporated, and the drink is now completely safe to drink. Just crush the dry ice (to a powder). I buy pellets OR add the dry ice into an ice bag and crush it using an ice crushing mallet or similar tool. ALWAYS wear gloves when handling dry ice. 

You can add a little to the bottom of your cocktail glass to give it that spooky, smoky effect when you pour the drink, and maybe add another touch of powdered dry ice after that for a smoky effect that lasts a bit longer. But you should NOT swallow or ingest bits of dry ice. Wait until the dry ice has completely evaporated. This happens fast, and it leaves no residue behind as it evaporates. The powdered dry ice evaporates even faster.

Black Fig Vodka Martini

INGREDIENTS:

• 1/2 ounce Black Vodka
• 1/2 ounces Fig Vodka
• 1 1/2 ounces Creme de Cassis
• 1/2 ounce of Dry Vermouth
• Figs, sliced in half, to garnish

 

Directions:

1. Fill a cocktail shaker with ice, add all ingredients.
2. Shake to chill, and strain into glass.
3. Garnish with a halved fig

HOW TO MAKE BLACK VODKA?

• Select your favorite vodka, about 750 ml bottle if you’re planning a party.
• Grab some food coloring, 1/4 teaspoon of black gel food coloring or you can use 2 drops each of red, green, and blue liquid food coloring to create black.
• Mix the chosen food coloring into the vodka and give it a good shake, add more coloring for a deeper black if desired, and that’s it, you have black vodka without changing the taste.

Now relax watch the sunset and breathe…..

or…party all night long afterall it is Halloween!

Missed the latest Newsletter?

Beach Bungalow Banquet made easy!

Penichillin Cocktail

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 ounces blend Scotch whisky, preferably Monkey Shoulder
• 3/4 ounce honey-ginger syrup (see Editor’s Note)
• ¾ ounce lemon juice
• 1/4 cup ice
• peated Scotch whisky
• Garnish: paper parasol

DIRECTIONS:

1. In a blender, combine first four ingredients and blend until smooth.
2. Pour into a footed Irish whiskey glass.
3. Gently pour the peated whiskey on top of the drink.
4. Serve with a straw and garnish with a paper parasol.

Honey-Ginger Syrup:
8 ounces honey
1 six-inch piece of ginger root
8 ounces water

Combine honey with peeled and sliced piece of ginger root with water in a small pot and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for five minutes. Refrigerate overnight, then strain, discarding the solids.

Betty Boop Cocktail

Ingredients:

• 2 oz. Vodka (Gin works well here too)
• 1/2 oz. Elderflower Liqueur
• 3/4 oz. Lime Juice
• 1/2 oz. Simple Syrup (or less depending on the sweetness/tartness of the berries)
• 5 Blackberries
• 1 Raspberry

Directions: 

• Muddle 2-3 Blackberries (depending on size) and 1 raspberry.
• Add ice
• shake
• double strain into a Martini glass
• Garnish with two Blackberries on a spike

Missed the latest Newsletter?

Missed the latest Newsletter?

Protecting your home office…

The new norm for real estate professionals may be working from a home office.

The post-COVID-19 real estate office may end up being your home. How do you protect yourself and your property when you no longer have a real estate office to go to regularly? Here are some ideas: SEPARATE BUSINESS EQUIPMENT FROM YOUR PERSONAL ELECTRONICS. If you’re doing work on a personal computer for business use and have a theft or loss, there may be limits on personal property coverage. ENROLL IN A COMPREHENSIVE HOMEOWNER’S INSURANCE PLAN. The home office coverage limit of many plans may not cover the range of equipment you’re using. Do an inventory of personal items like laptops, monitors, printers and voice headsets to make sure your coverage limit lines up with what your stuff is worth. REQUEST AN INCREASE IN YOUR PERSONAL HOME OFFICE LIMIT (IF YOU NEED IT). The average homeowner’s policy in the U.S. has a $2,000 limit for home office equipment. As more people have office setups at home, you’ll want a home office limit that starts at $8,000 and can go higher if necessary. One thing that may warrant higher limits is if you store business inventory, your company’s products or materials at your home. Check with your brokerage to make sure you’re covered before you take personal responsibility. ADAPTING TO A NEW WORK ENVIRONMENT TAKES TIME. Think through the different scenarios that could lead to physical harm or injury, such as loose electrical cords or leaving the stove on when you have the ability to cook lunch instead of buying it. Finally, know your home’s limits. Energy costs may go up when you are home. Try offsetting the power and energy usage throughout the entire day with some energy saving devices and LED lights.

 

Beach Bungalow Banquet made easy!

 

Watermelon-Tequila Cocktail

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup water
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 8 cups diced seedless watermelon (1 pound)
• 1/4 cup fresh lime juice
• 1 3/4 cups blueberries
• 3/4 cup lightly packed fresh mint leaves, plus 8 sprigs for garnish
• 1 1/4 cups silver tequila
• Ice

Directions:

Step 1    

In a small saucepan, bring the water to a simmer with the sugar and stir over moderate heat until the sugar is dissolved about 1 minute; let the sugar syrup cool.

Step 2    

In a blender, puree the watermelon until smooth. Set a fine-mesh strainer over a bowl and strain the watermelon juice, pressing gently on the solids to extract as much juice as possible. Discard the pulp.

Step 3    

In a large pitcher, combine the sugar syrup with the lime juice, blueberries and mint leaves. Using a wooden spoon, lightly muddle the blueberries and mint. Add the watermelon juice and tequila. Refrigerate until chilled, about 2 hours.

Step 4    

Pour the cocktail into tall ice-filled glasses. Garnish with the mint sprigs and serve.

 

Paloma Cocktail

 

Ingredients:

• 1 lime wedge
• Kosher salt (optional)
• Ice
• 2 ounces blanco tequila
• 1 ounce fresh grapefruit juice
• 3/4 ounce fresh lime juice
• 1/2 ounce Simple Syrup
• 1 ounce chilled club soda
• 1 lime wedge, for garnish

 

Directions:

• Moisten the outer rim of a highball glass with a lime wedge and coat lightly with salt.
• Fill the glass with ice.
• Fill a cocktail shaker with ice, then add the tequila, grapefruit and lime juices and Simple Syrup; shake well.
• Strain into the glass, stir in the club soda and garnish with a lime wedge.

 

Good News…

The 2020 Back-to-School Sales Tax Holiday was passed by the Florida Legislature and signed into law by Governor Ron DeSantis. This sales tax holiday begins Friday, August 7, 2020, and ends Sunday, August 9, 2020.

During this sales tax holiday period, qualifying items will be exempt from tax, including certain school supplies selling for $15 or less per item; clothing, footwear, and certain accessories selling for $60 or less per item; and the first $1,000 of the sales price of personal computers and certain computer-related accessories purchased for noncommercial home or personal use.

For more information and a list of qualifying items, please review the Department of Revenue’s Tax Information Publication (TIP) on the 2020 Back-to-School Sales Tax Holiday, as well as Frequently Asked Questions documents for consumers and businesses.

For the full list of qualifying items CLICK HERE

Missed the latest Newsletter?

Beach Bungalow Banquet made easy!

Cherry Bomb Mimosas

YIELDS:   4                            PREP TIME:  5 MINS

 

INGREDIENTS:

1 c. pineapple juice

1/4 c. maraschino cherry juice (from the jar of cherries)

1 bottle champagne

Orange slices, for garnish

 

DIRECTIONS:

1. In champagne flutes, combine pineapple juice and maraschino cherry juice. Top off with champagne and garnish with an orange slice.

 

 

Southern Comfort Punch

Ingredients:

• 6 lemons
• 4 navel oranges
• 4 navel oranges
• 1 six-ounce frozen orange juice, concentrate
• 2 liters lemon-lime soda
• 1 liter Southern Comfort

 

Directions:

•  Step 1

Line two baking sheets with plastic wrap, and set aside. Slice lemons into rounds as thin as possible. Arrange lemon slices in layers on one prepared baking sheet. Repeat with oranges; layer on second baking sheet. Place in the freezer for 2 to 2 1/2 hours, until fruit slices are frozen.

• Step 2

Just before serving, open the cans of frozen lemonade and orange juice, and place the frozen concentrates, whole, in a large punch bowl. Add the soda, Southern Comfort, and several handfuls of ice. Remove frozen fruit slices from freezer, and arrange over the top of punch. Serve immediately.